Maginthius Darkestsky
Maginthius Darkestsky is one of Azeroth's more magnetic characters. His charisma is undeniable—he's handsome, striking, and sharper than the edge of a razor. His years have brought him detachment and confidence. Cunning and ambitious to a fault, Maginthius rose to prominence as one of the leaders of the Cult of the Damned during the Third War, until ultimately betraying them and rejoining the Alliance shortly before the Siege of Naxxramas. Although he is lacking in raw power, his keen intuition and plethora of skills have proven him capable against far stronger opponents, and he is thus regarded as one of the most powerful Warlocks on Azeroth. Battles for him are typically won off the battlefield, before the fighting even starts. He insists that his last name is pronounced Dar-KEST-skee. History In Service to the Alliance Maginthius Darkestsky was the second-born son to Varrick and Tania Darkestsky just over a decade before the opening of the Dark Portal. As close cousins to the royal Perenolde family, Margrave Darkestsky was head of one of the more prestigious noble houses in all of Alterac. Maginthius was particularly close with his older brother Selim, who was very protective of him, and his sister Ilyana, who seemed to harbor a love more than familial for him. His younger brother, Ryon, was born just as the First War began. Maginthius began studying the arcane arts in Dalaran later than most, and came of age shortly before the Second War began. He left Dalaran at the behest of his father, who wanted him to serve with him as an officer in the Alterac army. In the command of a small regiment, he showed his adeptness in command and penchant for studying warlock artifacts. When Aiden Perenolde's treachery was revealed, the unprepared Darkestsky's rashly sided with their relatives and were promptly crushed by the Alliance army. The family was stripped of its noble title and lands and were forced to pay a large tithe to the Alliance internment program. To make matters worse, Lady Tania developed a fatal illness and passed away shortly after. Ruined, robbed, and rattled, Varrick grew depressed and turned to the bottoms of bottles for relief. When the Alliance of Lordaeron set out on an expedition to Draenor, Maginthius followed as a lowly mage in hopes of bringing some semblance of honor back to his family, and also to study more Orcish artifacts. As part of the few Alliance forces that managed to escape Draenor's destruction, Maginthius returned home to his family and his father's apathy and alcoholism. Quickly realizing their was no place for him here, Maginthius left for Quel'thalas and resumed his magic studies with his war-buddy Anelen Suntreader, a high-elf mage. There he met Anelen's niece Verosi. The two eventually fell in love and had three half-elf children together. Though the guilt of leaving his family behind to deal with his father continued to gnaw at him, Maginthius considered himself to be quite happy. He continued his study of fel artifacts and eventually became a warlock. In Service to the Damned One day, a mysterious letter appeared at Maginthius' door. It promised him a chance of ending his father's misery. Bidding farewell to his family for a time, Maginthius followed the letter's instructions and embarked on his pilgrimage. It wasn't long until he was face to face with Kel'thuzad. Kel'thuzad entralled Maginthius with offers of teaching him the powers of necromancy to revive his dead mother. Having built up a decade of guilt of abandoning them, Maginthius jumped at the chance to right his biggest regret. In return, Maginthius began spreading the plague of undeath across Lordaeron. Having long blamed the nation of the Alliance for his family's misfortunes, he actually found some sense of justice in destroying those who humiliated his family. After Kel'thuzad's death, he returned to his family crypt in Alterac to resurrect his mother. He brought her reanimated body before his drunken father. Rather than grateful, Varrick was disgusted and horrified at her twisted form, and sickened more so by the magics used by Maginthius to bring her back. Varrick slew his undead wife, and Maginthius could not comprehend why his father rejected his family so. In a haze of confusion and anger, Maginthius fled. In an attempt to repair the content feeling he had broken, Maginthius rode towards Quel'thalas. On his way there, he was captured by agents of the Scourge. In his unwell mind, he rejoined the Cult of the Damned, and returned to his family in Quel'thalas, until he was summoned by the Dreadlord Tichondrius and the Lich King's new champion, Arthas Menethil. During the march through Quel'thalas, Maginthius' thoughts drifted constantly to his two families. During the raid on Silvermoon City, Maginthius abandoned the undead army to search for his wife and children, only to discover Verosi's corpse being devoured by a ghoul. Slaying the ghoul and cradling his wife, he found his three children and ushered them to safety. Burying his wife in her ancestral lands outside Silvermoon, Maginthius led his children to Lordaeron, and left them in the care of the Order of the Silver Hand. He then returned to the Cult of the Damned, unsure of his future in the world. During the Scourge's campaign through the Alterac mountains, Maginthius found himself in abject horror when he discovered the bodies of his father and two brothers, weapons in hand. Amongst his tears, he heard another voice whimpering nearby. Discovering his traumatized sister underneath some rubble, Maginthius freed her and spirited her away to nearby Southshore. Maginthius, in the haze of his anger and sadness, eventually found resolve when Arthas fled from Lordaeron. He would not fight against the Scourge directly as Sylvanas or the Crusade did, but would whittle it away from within. In Service to Vengeance For the next four years, Maginthius schemed against Kel'thuzad. Although the victories in Stratholme and Scholomance were partly his doing, his greatest accomplishment came when he outright turned on Kel'thuzad. He supplied the Scourge's enemies with critical information on Naxxramas' defenses, sparking a major assault against the Dread Citadel. The Scourge's hold on Lordaeron was broken and Kel'thuzad was defeated. He retrieved his children, now in the care of the Argent Dawn, who had begun training the three of them as Paladins. He found his sister in Stormwind, and settled his family down there for a few brief months. Finally taking a much needed respite. His respite would not last as the call to arms was sounded and Maginthius stepped through the Dark Portal alongside the Alliance once again.' '''Having heard of Illidan's repeated failures to defeated the Lich King, Maginthius felt a grim determination overcome him. He felt as if Illidan had some sort of hand in his family's misfortune. Maginthius' knowledge of Outland and his experience as a commander proved invaluable. While in Terrokar Forest, Maginthius and a handful of Alliance forces had discovered a remnant of the Shadow Council. The Alliance laid waste to the Warlocks, but Maginthius picked up one of their tomes. He became enthralled with its teachings, and turned his knowledge of the dark arts into knowledge of the fel. Armed with his new fel powers, Maginthius joined what would become the Shattered Sun Offensive in the raid on the Black Temple, and took part in the battle against Illidan Stormrage, and was present when Akama and Maiev slayed the Betrayer. He was also involved in the downfall of the Amani trolls, and did his best to learn of the dark rituals they had learned. When Kael'thas Sunstrider betrayed his homeland and invited the Legion in, Maginthius could not bear to see the land he had called home for so long burn. He rushed to its aid, this time, alongside his eldest son and daughter, Soren and Lorenna, who had become fully-fledged paladins. When Maginthius heard the news of the Scourge's renewed invasion, no time was wasted in his return to war. He immediately set sail for Valiance Keep, and was recognized for his efforts in Outland and immediately enlisted in the Alliance Army. For the next few months, Maginthius proved himself invaluable to the allied forces in Northrend. His in-depth knowledge of the Scourge was a tool that few could match. When the time came to strike down the Lich King, Maginthius was there, and he was ready. When the final blow was dealt to Arthas, he felt six years of anguish and regret wash away. He left for Hearthglen with his two children, who had joined the Argent Crusade, and provided what knowledge he could to the Crusade and Cenario circle, as the two began to heal the lands of Lordaeron. In Service to Freedom After the Cataclysm and Deathwing's dramatic reemergence into the world, Maginthius did not set his sights on aiding the Druids in Hyjal, or repairing the Pillar of Earth in Deepholm. His eyes were on Cho'gall, one of the last remnants of the Old Horde. One of the last reminders of his family's downfall. He dedicated the next several months to wiping out the Twilight's Hammer clan. He had kept tabs on the Ogre mage and his followers, and was more than prepared for his madness. After Cho'gall was defeated, Maginthius, who had been gravely wounded in the Bastion of Twilight, took a long leave of absence from active duty. He still provided what support he could, though he no longer knew why he fought. He has avenged his sister, redeemed his family, and brought vengeance to all those he thought had wronged him. He was no longer a slave to old hatreds, and he held no contempt for the Orcs. After asking himself all of these questions, he asked his sister to join him and his son Zelus in Hearthglen, and allowed his half-elf paladin children continue on their own quests to save the world from Deathwing. They had their own path to follow, but for his youngest son, he seemed to have no path to find. Zelus had little aptitude as a follower of the Light. He was not magically gifted or attuned to the elements, nor particularly smart or skilled with a weapon. He wasn't very well-spoken and had no desire to become some merchant. Maginthius' restlessness and Zelus' lack of purpose led the family of three to pack up and explore the lands of Kalimdor, which not even Maginthius had been to despite being so well-traveled. It was there that the struggle against Ragnaros hit very close to home. A group of druids, loyal to Fandral Staghelm, kidnapped Zelus. Enraged, Maginthius immediately followed Malfurion Stormrage into the Firelands. After a long, heated battle, Maginthius entered Sulfuron keep to find his son unconscious and badly burned, but alive. Upon waking, Zelus' reflexes had him shoot a ball of fire at his father. Maginthius quickly diverted the flame but afterwards stood in shock. Then it finally dawned on him. Zelus, of all things, had become a Druid. A Druid of the Flame. Through what malevolent ritual he did not know, but his son had learned of their powerful fire abilities and shapeshifting techniques. '(WIP)''' Category:Characters Category:Alteraci Category:Human Category:Mages Category:Warlocks Category:Necromancers